


Day of the Dead

by SonYamuri



Category: FairShaw - Fandom, World of Warcraft
Genre: But mexican tradition, Crossover, Day of the Dead, Let's make a day of the dead altar, M/M, Not Coco though, dia de los muertos
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-11-03
Updated: 2020-11-03
Packaged: 2021-03-08 19:20:24
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,415
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/27361885
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/SonYamuri/pseuds/SonYamuri
Summary: It's Day of the Dead, a three day Tradition, but today, November 2, Mathias decides that he and Flynn could use some time to remember their loved ones.
Relationships: Flynn Fairwind/Mathias Shaw
Comments: 3
Kudos: 13





	Day of the Dead

**Author's Note:**

> So, here in Mexico it's November 2, day of the dead. Of course I was pretty busy with the family dinner, but while talking to a friend she told me "I'd make an altar for my family, if I knew how to". Long short story she doesn't want to because she want a true día de los muertos altar.
> 
> So with the new short-tale of Flynn and Mathias, this came up. Also, The Day of the Dead is Canon in WoW SOOOO

Dusk slowly covered the Cathedral District of Stormwind. First, Flynn was quite put off when Mathias asked him to meet him in front of the Cathedral so they could walk together to the Graveyard. Well, they had been dating for almost two months now since Mathias returned from Zandalar and though their dates were quite few and non-existent due the spy’s work, they did in fact have a couple of them, and walked around the city together. Actually, Flynn’s favorite time was when Mathias finally finished his work, those few, precious times when he finished on time and walked him to his place. Flynn got a room in the Pig and Whistle, at least for the moment, and the spy’s place was as well in the Old Town, so it was not that much the path they had to walk… in distance. Because the company, oh Tides, it was epic. Sometimes they talked, sometimes they remained in comfortable silence, but he could feel nevertheless how something grew and grew between them in each small interaction they had. 

The bells of the Cathedral, signaling the 7pm o’clock, startled him, and at the same time he remembered why he was here. Right. Shaw.

And speaking of the devil, he saw him walking towards him, barely passing in front of the Orphanage. The spy looked so fancy wearing black, knee-high boots, black trousers and a white, formal-looking shirt. That made the expirate feel nervous, who in fact was wearing nice clothes, not as nice as Mathias’ though, but wearing his old coat.

“Flynn” said Mathias, bowing his head.

“Mathias” said Flynn, hoping that his natural charm was enough to cover his foolishness of not going to their… date? Well dressed. 

“Is everything okay?” said Mathias as he gestured Flynn to follow him, and the other rushed to oblige. 

“I’m the one who should ask that. Listen, I love going anywhere as long you are there, but I must say that the graveyard was quite the surprise”.

Mathias shook his head, obviously amused. “Do you know what day is today?”

Oh. Oh no.  _ The question _ . He used to get in trouble with his expartners because he was never able to remember important dates. In his defense he never thought that Mathias was someone who would care for something like celebrating each month that they were together and- the terror disappeared as soon the spy shook his head. 

“We, the mainlanders, have a celebration. In theory, is a three days celebration but today, in fact, is the most important night. This is why I asked you to come”.

“To the graveyard” deadpanned Flynn.

“You shall see”.

  
  
  


*~*~*~*~*~*

  
  


Of all the strange things that Flynn had seen on his travels, to arrive to an usually serious, formal graveyard to see it out of the blue filled with people, a sweet smell in the air, like freshly baked bread and sugar, flowers, music and vibrant, bright colors was the last time he could have ever hoped for. Actually it would have never occurred to him that this could happen.

Colorful papers were hanging around the place, candles of different shapes, heights and colors were over the tombs, the tables, the coffins, musicians everywhere living up the place, civilians, adventurers and out-of-duty soldiers dancing, eating, laughing and sharing tales. A couple of adventurers near the corner, wearing strange, tight and full body red costumes were struggling against each other, jumping around, launching punches and kicking each other. 

They were walking on a wide path, the central path he supposed, but then he stopped to see something; a man, wearing soldier’s armor, was kneeling in front of two tombs, one right next to the other, covered in strange orange-yellowish flores, candles and color papers, accommodating bread and fruits in small, porcelain plates over them, candies and bottles, surely of alcohol. In front of one of the tombstones was the picture of an eldery couple, smiling and hugging a pre-teen that definitely was the man in front of him. So, surely his parents.

“Flynn?” Mathias was way ahead of him, so he hurried to catch up.

“What’s going on here?” He asked, still a bit stunned by so much life in an usually formal place. “Why are here so many people and food and music?”

“Day of the Dead” said Mathias simply. “Is an old custom that became popular once more races slowly joined the Alliance and more of them knew about it. In this day we come to the graveyards to spend some time with our loved ones-” 

“Even though they are dead?” Flynn made a face at his words, knowing that he spoke too loud, but no one seemed to notice, or at least they did not care.

“Yes” said the spy with one of his soft, rare smiles in lips that made Flynn’s heart flutter. “This day is to remember them. The custom says that when the night arrives, a bridge opens between their world and ours, so they can come, for one night, to eat the food we leave for them, spend some time with us, so they can return to where they belong before the dawn.

“But…” this concept was new for Flynn. Not entirely unpleasant but… weird. “I have seen other celebrations like this. This looks like a party, as if you celebrate death”.

“ _ It's _ a party, but you are misunderstanding that part. This is meant to cherish life and remember the dead. Back in the days, people believed that crying once for the dead was fine, but crying twice would create a river made of tears, which would make the travel to the Shadowlands harder”.

“Ohhh” Flynn grinned when he finally catched the meaning. “This is why it is a party. At a party you laugh, but never cry”. 

Mathias nodded. However, while they reached a couple of sellers dressed in black, wearing big, black hats with various, colored paper flowers and their faces painted to look like skulls, Mathias spoke again.

“It also is meant for the people who cannot cry” he mumbled. “And this is the only way to mourn them”.

Flynn asked no further, but nodded. Mathias bought a bouquet of those strange looking orange-yellowish flores -that did not smell exactly nice but looking at them made him feel  _ something _ within his chest-, several white and black candles, two pieces of bread covered in something white that at first he believed it was flour, but at closer look it was actually sugar. Two bottles of whiskey, fruits and a small box of those colored papers; said papers were cut in a way that they resembled skeletons dancing, eating or playing music, tables filled with food and some interesting altars. 

The spy guided him to a very quiet corner of the graveyard, quite lonely as well and found haven under a huge tree, however, to Flynn’s surprise, he did not sit down and snuggled against the trunk, as he usually would have, but laid the things down on the floor and looked up at Flynn.

“Come here, help me”.

“What are you going to do?”

“We’re making an altar”.

Confused, but excited indeed, he dropped on his knees to help Mathias; they found a big stone which they used as base to make the altar: around the rock they accommodated some candles, then used the papers as carpets at the stone’s sides, three at each side, one next to the other, and then around the tree’s trunk, like a staircase. When they were done, used some flowers to decorate around the stone and candles. Then they had a quality time together, plucking out the petals of the rest of the flowers, speaking of everything and nothing at all.

When the dusk was about to become night and the sun was almost completely down, the graveyard was lit by all the candles around the place, filling it with eerie, golden, flickering light. Flynn forgot about Mathias for some minutes to look around, feeling a strange sensation flowing inside him, crawling within his chest, almost purring. There was something different in the ambient, he could notice, he could  _ feel  _ it, and though there was still music, and dancing and laughs, he could not help but notice that it seemed like a humble mood. Or something like that. He didn’t know how to describe it, but he did know what to compare it to; to what he felt when he saw Mathias again, after several weeks of their separation in Zandalar. After navigating like a madman, losing his sleep, losing his appetite, drowning into his sadness and despair, and then getting him back.

The place, the air, felt like it feels when you finally reunite again with someone who you love after a long while. 

One moment.

Everyone were doing exactly what Mathias and him did; putting color papers over the tombs, lighting candles, accommodating food… they were making altars as well. For their families, he guessed.

What about them?

When he turned around he found Mathias already watching him, looking straight at his eyes with a soft smile on his lips. It seemed as if he was waiting for Flynn to discover, by himself, what they did. 

At the candle light, Mathias seemed even more handsome. Royal. Human. Perhaps it was because of this strange magic in the air. 

He got closer to Mathias and kneeled down, looking between him and the altar.

“For who is this one?”

Mathias looked away for some seconds. He seemed… embarrassed?

“What made me realize many things, things that could be, promises of a new future, that made me think about many things while I was captured by the trolls… was that talk we had the night before”. 

“The…” oh, right. That talk about his mother. The same talk that made him realize what he felt for Mathias. “I know what you mean”.

  
  


“I noticed that it is still painful for you. Who would not hurt?” he looked at Flynn once more. “You feign that you don’t because that’s the way you deal with things, which is usually fine.But I thought… that this could be a good chance. I came here to honor my grandmother. I do this every year. She was a hard woman, but she loved me, and I loved her as well. You don’t have to if you don’t want it, of course. 

Flynn thought about that for a long while and Mathias waited. The night was already here, dark, the moon was barely a silver, upside down smile as it creeped over the mountains and buildings, the night breeze was filled with the smell of sugar, bread and autumn.

“I would like that” he finally said, not looking at Mathias. “But I noticed that they are putting pictures and I don’t have-”

“You don’t need it” Mathias moved a bit and from his pockets he produced a piece of parchment and a charcoal. Then, from his belt he unsheathed a dagger that seemed old, antique, but sharp. The Kultirian knew that if for some reason he tried a finger over the edge, he would lose that finger. “It can be an object that once belonged to her, or even a paper with her name. After all, what matters is the intention”.

Mathias wrote something on the parchment using the charcoal, then tore that piece to put it over the dagger.

_ Pathonia Shaw. _

Flynn smiled, quite nervous, and nodded. He grabbed the parchment and wrote something, tore the piece and left it over the stone.

_ Lyra Fairwind. _

He doubted, but turned once more to Mathias, grabbing his shell necklace.

“This… it never belonged to her, I found it several years later in one of my business trips… but it reminded me of her. She loved to walk on the beaches, collect shells..”

“Then put it there” Mathias signaled the stone where the papers and the dagger laid. “If it remembers you of her, put it there”.

Flyn nodded and after taking it off, put it next to the dagger. While he did that, Mathias put one of the breads next to the stone, one bottle of whiskey and the fruits. Then he show him how to make the path with the petals of the orange flowers, from the edge of the stone to a few inches away, between the colored papers at each side.

“Ah” Flynn noticed a seller with lotus flowers and roses. “She used to love roses, can I…’”

“Go”.

Flynn bought a small roses bouquet and Mathias took some of them to decorate the candles and the path’s sides, and also plucked the petals out of some to mix them in the path, with the orange petals

“We usually use orange ones but if you don’t have any of these, any kind of flower she used to like will make it”.

Their altar was very, very small, and simple, compared to the bigger, complicated ones around them. But this one, that he made with Mathias, was the most beautiful altar in the whole graveyard. 

For a few seconds Flynn felt his eyes fill with tears when he discovered that all this time, he never really stopped for a minute to think about his mother. Yes she was a thief, yes perhaps she was not the best, but she loved him, and most importantly, he loved her. 

A sudden, cold and strong breeze howled in the night, almost blowing out the candles around the graveyard -but it didn’t (which was, certainly very strange). He looked around quite stunned because he could swear that when that breeze appeared, something, like a cold, soft hand, ruffled his hair (like his mother used to) but of course there was no one. Only Mathias. 

“So” Mathias took out the other bread, a kind of half circle decorated with a single bread circle in middle, and five bars around it (that as Mathias said, it represented a  _ corpse _ but it was called “bread of dead”) and signaled Flynn to sit besides him, near the altar. Flynn obliged and cuddled besides him. “Tell me about your mother. Do you remember something funny about her?”

“Something? Oh Matty, I could talk all night about the times we got in trouble, and never stop”.

Mathias broke the bread in half, gave Flynn a piece and then he grabbed the extra bottle of whisked, opened it, drank some of it and looked at the Kul Tirian to offer the bottle. 

“Go ahead. We have all night”. 

**Author's Note:**

> Remember: you do not need a fancy, huge altar, if you want to conmemorate your loved ones, be humans or animals. Ask your closer mexican for more info about it or check internet.


End file.
